New academic research and analysis shows President Xi Jinping’s high-profile anti-corruption drive has fallen short of its goal. Citizens blame local graft on the central government rather than regional authorities. The Financial Times reports.
Some countries really are more corrupt than others
According to this fantastic commentary on corruption by Alina Mungiu-Pippidi for Foreign Policy, “the rule of law and control of corruption are nearly synonymous”. Without rule of law, she says, attempts to reign in corruption through legal mechanisms will only be captured by the corrupt system in place. The way forward? The defeat of corruption, she says, is not achieved “by importing legal silver bullets from abroad,” it is a political process enabled “through a mix of policies advanced by domestic advocates”. Read on!
Wanted by U.S.: The stolen millions of despots and crooked elites
The United States’ Kleptocracy initiative is aimed at holding foreign government officials to account and preventing them from using the U.S. as a haven for money looted from their own countries. Although solid wins are rare, tying up a corrupt foreign leader’s money in the courts is seen as a victory, writes Leslie Wayne for The New York Times.
After Mozambique’s spending, the reckoning
The Africa Report looks at Mozambique’s economic crisis — a crisis that has still to reach its peak.
Let’s give more to Nepal, not to corrupt African regimes
Most of Ireland’s foreign aid budget goes to just seven African countries. The Irish Independent asks why is there little debate over whether these funds are going where they should, following high-profile […]
Ottawa’s promised changes to federal integrity rules gives SNC Lavalin a boost
Things are looking less sour for graft-tainted engineering giant SNC-Lavalin, which received a boost Monday when an analyst upgraded his rating and price estimate for the company’s stock following changes to the federal government’s procurement policy, announced in last week’s budget.
If you know where the missing $6 million is, please tell Sierra Leone
A third of the $18 million slated to combat Ebola in Sierra Leone may have gone to pay non-existent “ghost” workers, a government audit finds.
Canada may blacklist SNC Lavalin – The view from India
Media sources in India are following the Canadian government’s investigation of SNC-Lavalin with great interest.
Lion’s share of foreign aid diverted in war-torn Somalia
A UN audit of billions in aid money earmarked for starving Somalis remains largely unaccounted for due to violence and corruption in a country caught between Islamists and a kleptocractic government.
Africa in Fact: dirty dealing
The September 2014 issue of the monthly current affairs magazine, Africa in Fact, offers a dramatic snapshot of the all-embracing and, at times, astonishing ways in which the cancer of corruption impacts societies, diverting resources from much-needed public services, ranging from health care to national defence, into private pockets.
Education scam: Ghost teachers from ghost schools receive ghost training
A CIDA-funded teacher-training project based in Pakistan’s Sindh province has been revealed as nothing more than a cash cow by a former project leader who claims teacher training took place only on paper and that while those registered were often unaware they were signed up to the programme, their training expenses were pocketed by officials.
SNC-Lavalin facing allegations of kickbacks in Canada
(February 21, 2014) SNC-Lavalin, the Montreal-based engineering giant, is facing more allegations of corruption.
Does SNC-Lavalin deserve a clean bill of health?
(February 4, 2014) A “privileged and confidential” review by the Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC), released to Probe International under the Access to Information Act, says graft-tainted engineering giant SNC-Lavalin has cleaned up its act. Reviews that lack rigour and independence, however, do not help the cause of rebuilding corporate reputations.
Chinese dam builders rush to Latin America
(January 7, 2014) China’s growing involvement in hydropower development in the region boosts clout but also leads to allegations of poor corporate responsibility. “There is great resistance to dam-building in Latin America and special worry about Chinese dams because of the opaque nature of China’s decision-making and poor quality in these dams,” says Pat Adams of Probe International.
Foreign aid: supporting dictators one at a time
(January 7, 2014) British foreign aid money is being used to prop up some of the most corrupt countries in the world.
Patricia Adams
Brady Yauch
Dai Qing
Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
Mu Lan
Probe International
Lisa Peryman
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